What are Photoshop Overlays?

As the name suggests, overlays are pre-made elements that can be added on top of your existing images to create new and interesting appearances. They are mainly used for inside Photoshop, but you can use them with ANY layering software you may own.

How do I use them?

Depending on the specific overlay collection you are using, there are different ways to use them. But most overlays are used by dragging and dropping onto your image, setting the blending mode, and then resizing. It really is that simple most of the time although the more time you spend, the better the outcome. We made a blog post showing the most simple way of doing this.

Many Options to Choose From

If this sounds interesting to you, then you will be pleased to know we have many different photoshop overlays available here at NUUGraphics. Take a look at each one above or read below for quick descriptions of each.

Sparkler Overlays

With our sparkler overlays, you will be able to easily add sparkler effects to any photo. Great for wedding and night photography or any creative design projects. Included are 170 overlays including numbers, letters, hearts, words, shapes and more.

Smoke Bomb Overlays

Rather than dealing with messy and toxic smoke bombs, our smoke bomb overlays offer a great alternative. Over 37 to choose from in various different colors and styles. Great for maternity photos, weddings, and creative uses.

Sky & Cloud Overlays

Ever wish you could change the sky in an image? Maybe it was an overcast and dreary day. Well with our sky overlays you’ll be able to change those skies and replace them with something a million times better. You could even use them to salvage old photos you forgot about and make them into something amazing.

Night Sky Overlays

On that note, we also have a night sky option. As you may know, taking night photos and getting a nice sky as well is not an easy task. To solve this problem, we created these night sky overlays allowing you to take your photos without worry about the sky. Just edit them in later saving yourself the hassle and time of long exposure.

Fireworks Overlays

Ever wanted to make your photos just a little bit more interesting? Why not add some fireworks? Great for nighttime wedding shots, 4th of July, or new year photos. You can also use them to add more fireworks on top of already existing ones.

Bubble Overlays

Add cute bubbles to your images in a second with these. Makes any photo a bit more dreamy, or playful. A fun effect to add to your collection of overlays.

Photoshop Overlays Complete Collection

If you are the kind of person to want everything we have, why not get the complete collection for a massively discounted price? With this collection, you’ll get sparklers, smoke bombs, skies, fireworks, bubbles, glitter, bokeh, lens flares and bonus overlays not included on the site. With a total of over 700+ overlays, you’ll have everything you need to be creative with your photos.

Adding Photoshop Overlays Step by Step

As we mentioned early, it’s not very hard to add overlays to an image. Let’s show you how to add them step by step in more detail than before.

1) Import and Resize

The first thing is to open the photo you will be editing. After, drag and drop the overlay you wish to use onto the image you opened. Next, simply resize to the size you wish. You can resize by pressing ctrl + T on Windows or cmd + T on Mac and then holding shift and dragging the corners.

2) Set the Blending Mode and Opacity

After the previous step, you’ll need to set the blending mode to get rid of any black background the overlay may have. You can set the blending mode at the right-hand side of your screen above the layers section. Depending on the overlay, you’ll need to set it to either screen or lighten. After this just set the opacity if needed. For example, if the overlay is too intense or bright.

3) Remove Anything You Don’t Want

By selecting the brush tool, you can then remove any parts of the overlay that on in the way. Let’s say you are using sparkler overlays and the sparkler is on somebodies face. Create a layer mask then use the brush tool, set the opacity and flow around 20% and brush over anything you want to get rid of.

Using Photoshop Overlays is fun and easy but nonetheless requires time to master and fully utilize. Try them out and see for yourself what they can do for you.